1

Drawing of Bentley Museum
2005
Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society
Norva Landry

2

Pico House - The Bentley Museum
1999
Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

3

Doris Bargholz and Norva Landry hold walking tour plaque
Circa 1995
Bentley Museum, Bentley Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

4

Norva Landry accepts Dick Damron's manuscript on behalf of the Bentley Museum
2005-Sep-3
Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

5

Bentley Museum (Pico House) mailbox
2009
Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

6

Bentley Museum - Windmill - our landmark
2009
Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

7

A "steering Committee"' consisting of Marg Beddoes, Sherry Haarstad, Ralph Scarlett. May Johnson, Gordon Gillard, Doris Bargholz, Pat Lavery, Norva Landry and Marg Martin first met April 30, 1991. They had the foresight to see a need for a museum in Bentley. At the time of Bentley's Seventy-fifth Anniversary they looked at the interesting local artifacts that were on display and they began to fear, if something wasn't done they would all disappear from our community, if there was no place to display them or record them.
A society number was applied for and they were open for donations. These were gratefully received from the Farmer's Market, the Agricultural Society, the Library, the Credit Union plus numerous other sources, private and otherwise.
The members of the "steering committee" began visiting other museums and attending classes on museum policies, preservation of artifacts and recording of artifacts.In September of 1992 some of the society met with Glen Pico to discuss getting the "Pico House" for a museum. Land was purchased, a basement dug, cement poured and the Pico house was moved to town to become our present day museum.
Once the house was moved to town there was much work to be done. Some of it included landscaping, clearing, painting, repairing, organizing, displaying and recording of artifacts and fund raising. As the project progressed the enthusiasm of the village and surrounding area grew. Many volunteers from the vicinity donated labour and funds.
On Saturday, June 3, 1995, "Pico House" celebrated its grand opening. About one hundred and seventy-five people attended in the Bentley Arena lobby for the opening ceremonies. Marg Beddoes, chairperson of the Bentley Museum, opened the ceremonies. Other speakers were Michael Dawe from the Red Deer and District Archives, Mayor Harold Erickson and Reverend Walter Coulton. Ralph Scarlett and Norva Landry presented Honorary Life Memberships to Gordon Gillard and Elmer Calkins. Entertainment was supplied by Dick Damron, the Grade IX Junior High School Band and the Grade IV - VI Singers. Doris Bargholz and Marg Beddoes held a ribbon for Gordon Gillard and Elmer Calkins to cut.
Following the ceremonies, the Bentley Museum was open for all to visit. Coffee and doughnuts were served in the old kitchen of the "Pico House" (the Bentley Museum). Eighteen year old Gordon Wright from Red Deer played his cello on the front veranda.
The "Pico House" has a history in the Bentley community. It was originally located just west of town on highway number twelve, - on the north side right after you pass the Highway twenty intersection. Glen Pico and his family reside there at the present time.The house was built by Henry Pico in 1924. It was constructed on the quarter that James McPherson had homesteaded.
Henry and his wife, Sophie had six children- three girls, Edna, Alma and Marie were all born in Spokane, Washington, USA and May, George and Frank were born in Alberta.
When Henry and Sophie moved to senior's quarters, George and his wife Jean Hale carried on living in the house. They had four children, Robert, Connie, Pearl and Glen. When George and Jean moved into Bentley in 1992, Glen decided to build a new home. The Pico family gave the old house to the Museum Society.
The lath and plaster construction moved very safely onto its present site and became "Pico House", Bentley's long awaited museum. The house remains in its original form.
A few years later, a windmill was added to the front lawn at the museum. It is thirty feet high and over sixty years old. It was donated to the museum by Bentley resident, Roy McNaught. The windmill had been erected on the Rupert Huistel place near Bentley, in the late 1920's and was used for many years to pump water for sheep. Charlie McNaught bought the Huistel place in 1952. After Charlie passed away in 1963, his brother, Roy took the windmill down and moved it to his farm southwest of Bentley. It was used as a TV antennae.
The Bentley Museum approached Roy McNaught about purchasing the windmill, and he said he might actually pay them to take it away! The top portion of the mill had been laid aside for many years and cattle had walked all over it. It was in rough shape. Roy made sure it was in working order before it came to the museum. He said there were eighteen fans and all but five were bent. He also said there were about one hundred and twenty bolts.The Bentley Museum was delighted to receive this historical artifact. This windmill is very prestigious on the lawn of our museum. It has become our acclaimed "landmark", a "Memorial Marker". Our stationary, cards and museum brochures all feature the "Pico House" and the "Windmill" .Visitors coming to Bentley don't need an address to find our museum, they just look for the tall windmill which reaches skyward over the nearby homes.
An agricultural building was added behind the museum. It contains many artifacts kindly donated by people in the Bentley area. Due to over crowding we have added an addition to this building. Hopefully it will be ready for the spring of 2010.
In August of 2000, the Bank of Montreal presented the Bentley Museum Society with a grant which started off the Bentley Museum's "Walking Tour Project". The historical buildings throughout Bentley are identified with mounted inscribed plaques. Two more grants have been received since then. Ten historical plaques have been completed and six more are being made. Up to one hundred buildings could qualify. The heavy metal plaques are made at Alberta Foundry, in Mirror. They are engraved with each building's history.
In 2005, Alberta's Centennial, the volunteers of the museum published a book as a Centennial Project. We sold it at cost as our contribution to the Alberta Centennial. We also had an open house on September 3, 2005 to celebrate and also to dedicate our flags as two flag poles had been erected that year. Frank Lough acted as Master of Ceremonies. Entertainment was supplied by Bentley's Dick Damron, Louise Pickering, Howard Morash, the Cookson-Hills girls, and our summer hostess, Heather Kemski, who supplied piano music. During the program Dick Damron presented Norva Landry with a copy of his manuscript for the Bentley Museum. Mayor Joan Dickau accepted a copy of "Bentley and District Early History "on behalf of the Town of Bentley, presented by Stan Anderson on behalf of The Bentley Historical Society. Refreshments, including a Centennial decorated cake completed the afternoon.
Also that same year the Bentley Museum filled a time capsule supplied by the provincial government and given to the town. We were so pleased and honored to be able to do this project for the Town of Bentley. Time capsules like the one we received were sent out to about 200 communities across Alberta. They were 30 inches (76 centimeters) long, 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) in diameter and made of steel. All the businesses, clubs, schools and churches were contacted and asked to submit material. The support was overwhelming. We took pictures of all the businesses and other important buildings in Bentley. All the material was copied on acid free paper and stored in plastic zip lock bags before being placed in the time capsule. We were allowed to put four pounds of material in the capsule. We filled her up and Norva Landry painted a picture of flowers on one side of the capsule. A few items were just too heavy and had to be returned to the businesses. A few women offered to "shrink their husbands" and put them in the capsule but we had to decline and tell them we were running out of room. The capsule was taken by the museum volunteers to Olympic Plaza in Calgary and stored in a much larger capsule which was taken to Edmonton to be locked away for 100 years, "2105". The larger steel time capsule, shaped like a rocket toured Alberta during the summer of 2005 accompanied by a 1914 McLaughlin touring car driven by a gentleman in period costume. The large capsule had whistles, sirens, flashing lights and smoke for special effects. It was raining and windy when the museum volunteers made their trek to Calgary, but a day we will all remember and we were so delighted to be part of this special event. It is very hard to imagine what Bentley and the world will be like when the capsule is opened in 2105.
In 2007, three Honourary Life Memberships were presented. They went to Ralph Scarlett, Norva Landry and Doris Bargholz. All three of these people were part of the original "steering committee" and have worked as volunteers and served on the board since the beginning.
In 2007 and 2008 the museum submitted an application to CHIN (Canadian Heritage Information Network) to do an exhibit on "Bentley and Area Schools" which is part of our mandate. CHIN accepted our application, supplied us with the software, technical support and a grant to update our present system, purchase a new computer and digital camera. We needed all this to complete the exhibit. We would never have made it without the help of Wes Lowery. As a result Bentley and Area Schools is on the internet under "Community Memories". This exhibit would not have been possible without the help of the members and organizations of Bentley who graciously provided images, memories and stories and the Bentley Museum volunteers who conducted interviews and researched data and artifacts. It took all of you to make this exhibit fly.
On July 18, 2007, the Bentley Museum received official notification and signage in the mail acknowledging our recognized Museum Status from the Alberta Museums Association. This required some extra work as everything had to be documented. We had to rewrite some policies but very few, as we were already doing most of what was required. We owe our "Steering Committee" a big "Bouquet" as they started us on the right track. It involved providing a panel of museum professionals with evidence that we were meeting the internationally recognized definition of a museum. This status is valid for five years at which time the museum will be required to reapply to the Museum Affirmation Program. We at the museum have always worked with Alberta Museum in the past and we look forward to their expertise and help in the future.
Every summer the museum hires a host person or an attendant, to show people around the museum and help with artifacts, yard work and cleaning. As a Tourist Information Center we have maps and pamphlets for those requesting such information and our attendant tries to answer all the questions these visitors ask. This year, 2009 Maeriann painted the floor in the Agricultural Building which was a big job. And it "looks great"! A big accomplishment. In 2008, an addition was built on the west side of the Agricultural Building that will be used for storage and will make way for more exhibits and more frequent rotating of exhibits.
Volunteers of the Bentley Museum sell sandwiches and pies two weekends during the summer at the Bentley Farmer's Market as a fund raising project. One of our board members, Clara Waddell took photos and visited the Farmer's Market vendors in order to update our historical files.
We hold a few Open Houses during the year and serve coffee and sweets. This gives our community a chance to visit their museum and have a look around. We are always pleased when the school children, Brownies and Guides pay us a visit.
We always have an Open House on Heritage or Family Day. Cyril Healy graciously supplies wagon rides during the Open House. Many also enjoy the free hot drinks and donuts and tours of Bentley Museum. You may even get in a few games of cards, caroms, and crokinole.
In 2009 we again applied to CHIN (Canadian Heritage Information Network) to submit an exhibit "The Chronicles of Bentley". Our application has been accepted. The Bentley Museum volunteers will be asking our community for information on the history of our great town, "Bentley".
We have some exciting plans for the future which include a larger building on our newly acquired property. Today Bentley has a museum to be proud of - a place where their ancestor's can be permanently recorded. So, please keep an eye on the "Pico House" - Bentley Museum site - just look for our landmark "The Windmill" - great things are about to happen.